A Strawberry Dropped In the Sand
by Katsuki Shizenno
Summary: Gaara is on his way to his favorite tree when he sees a girl. A Strawberry girl who he wants to comfort. Why does he wish to comfort this girl? Ichigo x Gaara. Pre-Shippuden. Warning: Not for Masaya lovers.
1. Chapter 1

**_I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew or Naruto_**

It was a peaceful day in Sunagakure. Sabaku no Gaara was headed to his favorite tree. A tree near where he used to swing as a child. Not many people thought of this tree as special so he was always alone. He walked up to the tree and was about to sit down when he saw a girl, about his age, with brunette pigtails . She was crying all by herself. Gaara stood and looked for a moment, the girl not noticing. For some reason he wanted to comfort her. He wanted to reach out his hand to her. Why? Maybe he remembered being alone as a child and being unloved, he never knew.

He took a step closer.

A leaf rustled and the girl looked up.

Gaara noticed she had beautiful brown eyes that captivated him somehow.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked flatly.

"I don't know," the girl whimpered.

"Are you alone?"

The girl nodded.

"They're gone…," she sobbed. "Mama and Papa and…Masaya."

"So you came here alone?" Gaara asked.

"No," the girl sniffed. "Naruto-chan and Kakashi-sensei bought me. They have business here."

The girl continued to cry.

Gaara got an idea.

"Watch," he said.

He used his sand to make a sparkling sand rose.

The girl stopped crying. She seemed interested.

Gaara made a bunny and then a kitten.

The girl smiled when she saw the kitten.

He made a silly Tanuki (on purpose).

The girl laughed.

Now her tears were from laughing.

"I'm Ichigo," the girl said. "Ichigo Momomiya. What's your name, nya?"

"Gaara."

"Gaara? Gaara-kun. I like your sand. Is it really sand anyway?"

She reached out to touch it.

Her hand touched Gaara's and he noticed how delicate her hands were.

Then he, as he rarely ever does, smiled, directly at her.

She smiled back.

"You're Ichigo," Gaara said. "Like this."

He made a sand strawberry.

"Yes, nya!" Ichigo smiled.

"C'mon." He stood up and reached out his hand. "I know Naruto. I can take you to him."

"Okay! Thank you."

So, they walked away, hand in hand.

**_A/N: The mews were transported to Naruto's world to fight evil. Orochimaru killed Masaya and Ichigo's family trying to weaken her power through sadness. Nya is "mew" or "meow" in Japanese. Ichigo says it a lot. A tanuki is a dog-raccoon, a mythological Japanese animal._**


	2. Chapter 2

**_I do not own Naruto or Tokyo Mew Mew_**

**_A/N: Sorry, it's been a while. Stupid writer's block. XD The reason Ichigo is weak in this chapter is going to be revealed in later chapters so please read on. :) Enjoy._**

It had been about a week since their first encounter and Gaara couldn't keep his mind off that girl, Ichigo Momomiya. The way his heart beat when he saw her. It was pure ecstasy. One day Ichigo showed up again. It was a hot windy day, and she came walking up the sandy path that goes by Gaara's favorite tree, looking at her feet. She looked up and saw Gaara and she immediately smiled.

"Gaara-kun!" she called.

Gaara looked up and saw her and immediately his heart began to beat. He went to meet her.

"Gaara-kun," Ichigo smiled. "I found you, nya."

Gaara looked at her questioningly.

"I wanted to see some more of your sand," Ichigo said quietly.

Gaara widened his eyes in amusement.

Suddenly a hard wind blew and sand rushed everywhere.

Ichigo screamed, grabbing on to Gaara.

Gaara grabbed her hand and led her to his house.

Once they were safely inside Gaara sat Ichigo down to rest on the black, wooden divan in the dark, tan living room.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked her, getting up.

Ichigo didn't reply.

Gaara looked down at her.

She was in a fetal position shaking, her eyes welling with tears.

Gaara was confused.

Why was she so upset? Was it the sandy gusts? Did they hurt her or anything? No, that was impossible. What was it?

"The wind," she wept. "It's scary."

"Scary?" Gaara asked.

Ichigo nodded slowly.

"Like on that day," she said, still crying. "H-he died."

Gaara had no idea what she was talking about but she guessed it was that Masaya guy she'd mentioned before. He sat down next to her and put his arms around her shaking body, bringing her into a hug.

Soon she began to calm down.

"Gaara-kun," she said, getting closer to him. "I don't want you to die."

"I'm not going anywhere," he replied. "If you don't want me to leave I'll stay with you."

They stayed together for a while after that and Ichigo soon fell asleep.

Gaara laid her down on the divan and sat next to her in deep thought.

Obliviousy she was holding quite a burden on her shoulders. Was it like his? He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to help her.

Not out of pity but because just her presence was helping his burden lift so much.

_**Thanks for reading.**_

_**~Katsuki Shizenno**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_I do not own Naruto or Tokyo Mew Mew_**

Constantly, the wonder about the sweet girl plagued Gaara, especially during those sleepless nights he was cursed to endure. One night, he decided he wanted to finally find the answers to his questions. He silently opened the window of his bedroom, without waking his siblings, and jumped the rooftops to the inn where Ichigo said she was staying. He landed on the roof of the inn almost soundlessly, and slipped silently into a window leading into one of the hallways of the inn. He walked down the hall, quickly but silently, scanning the room numbers until he reached the one Ichigo mentioned, 110. He knocked on it, and in the door stood a woman with long, brown hair and green eyes. She wore and ninja top and skirt with a fishnet bodysuit under it.

"Can I help you?" she asked, seeming surprised to see a boy she didn't know at the door.

"Is Ichigo-san here?" Gaara asked.

"Um, she's sleeping right now. Do you want me to give her a message or--"

"What can you tell me about her?"

"What?"

The woman was confused.

Gaara pulled the woman out into the hall.

"I wanted to know about her parents."

"Her parents?" the woman pulled her hand from Gaara's. "Listen! I don't know who you are but--"

"I want to help her. I can't understand why but…" His voice trailed off. He looked to the ceiling as if in deep thought, pondering something.

The woman could see he was sincere from the look in his eyes.

"I'm Yukino Ichiei," the woman smiled gently. "Ask me what you want to know."

A small while later Yukino and Gaara were outside, in the small courtyard outside the inn, sitting on a stone bench.

"So what happened to her parents?" Gaara asked.

Yukino sighed, "Sometimes I wonder why fate brought her here. She was an extremely good ninja when she was brought here, from another dimension. Our enemy, Orochimaru, whom I'm sure your familiar with, didn't like how well she fought with Naruto-kun and the others. He wanted a way to drain her power, and as you know, our fighting spirits come from our emotions…Orochimaru found the way back to Ichigo's dimension and…killed her parents."

Gaara nodded slowly, understanding her problems. "And this Masaya?"

Yukino dropped her eyes. "The same."

"Did she…love him?"

"Yes."

"Thank you, Yukino-san."

Gaara got up and began to walk away.

"Gaara-san," Yukino called.

"Yes?" Gaara asked.

"Why did you need to know all this?"

Gaara stood there a while, pondering the matter. He looked up into the stars. "I don't know. I barely understand."

"Do not hurt her anymore than she has been." Yukino's gaze turned threatening.

"I won't." Gaara said.

With this Gaara left. He pondered, as he walked back home, why he spent so much time trying to help one insignificant person. She was no different from the others who had shunned him as a child. If she knew about Shukaku, she'd never even look at him. So what made him keep going back to her? Why did he care what happened to her? She was useless. But yet, she made him feel so nice when she was around. He stopped on the path and thought back to his childhood, and the words of his uncle.

"Is this what it means to 'love?'" he pondered aloud.

He wanted to find out; he wanted to try.

"Maybe I can learn," he said. "To love someone other than myself."

**_Sorry I took so long to update again! ^.^; Thanks for reading everyone! _**

**_~Katsuki Shizenno_**


	4. Chapter 4

_**I do not Naruto or Tokyo Mew Mew **_

A day later, Gaara decided to find out more about the feelings he had. He felt the need to know what he was feeling, and why. So, around lunch time, he went to find Ichigo. He found her walking in the village with Naruto. He remembered Naruto. He was the boy who had told him about friends, purpose and having strength to go on. Ichigo seemed to be much happier than before and was smiling brightly with him. Gaara felt a pang of jealousy. He hopped down from the rooftop from which he had been observing and landed in front of the two.

Naruto and Ichigo stopped walking.

"Oi, Gaara!" Naruto grinned. "How's it goin'?"

"Gaara-kun," Ichigo smiled.

"You know him?" Naruto asked Ichigo.

"Yeah--"

"Ichigo-san," Gaara interrupted.

"Yes?" Ichigo looked at him.

"Do you want to come with me to see something later?"

"See something? Is it something nice, nya?"

"What you just asked was weird," Naruto said, flatly, to Ichigo.

Ichigo glared.

"I suppose you could call it 'nice.'" Gaara replied, simply.

"Okay, nya!" Ichigo smiled. "How about at seven?"

Gaara nodded, "I'll pick you up later, Ichigo-san." With this, he left.

Later that night, around 6:30 p.m., Gaara was packing some strawberries into a bento.

Kankuro was passing through the kitchen. He stopped short.

"Why are you packing strawberries?" Kankuro asked.

"They're for Ichigo-san," Gaara replied, nonchalantly.

"Ichigo-san?"

"That's a girl name," Temari appeared in front of them.

Kankuro and Gaara stared at her.

"It is," Temari said.

"Yes," Gaara replied.

"So you're taking strawberries to a girl?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes."

Temari looked at him incredulously. "Just, 'yes?'"

"I don't think Gaara is one to get nervous," Kankuro explained.

"Why would I be nervous?" Gaara asked.

"Don't you like this girl?" Temari asked.

"Yes, why?"

"Giving something to a girl is an act of affection."

"Not always, Temari," Kankuro said.

"Mostly."

Now Kankuro and Temari launched into a debate.

Gaara picked up the bento, now full of strawberries, and left before his two siblings could notice. On the way to pick up Ichigo, he pondered Temari's words. Giving something to a girl was a sign of affection? Was it true? If so, Gaara decided he shouldn't give them to her until he felt it was the right time.

When he reached Ichigo's inn, she was already in front of the building. She smiled brightly when she saw him and ran out to meet him.

"Gaara-kun!" she chirped.

When she called him, Gaara instantly felt warmth in his heart. Her smile, her voice, everything about her, captivated him.

He smiled back at her.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

"Yes," Ichigo said.

So Gaara took her warm, little hand in his own and led Ichigo to a high hill, on the outskirts of town.

Ichigo looked out at the view. The soft glow of the lights of Sunagakure was beautiful.

"It pretty here," Ichigo said. "Is this what you wanted to show me?"

"No," Gaara replied. "Look up."

Ichigo obeyed and looked up at the sky. Millions of stars twinkled above. It was extremely clear and easy to see them from where they were.

"They're so bright," Ichigo smiled.

"Keep looking," Gaara said.

A few seconds later, meteorites streamed across the sky. It was a meteor shower.

Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Sugoi!" she said in amazement and delight.

Ichigo's eyes twinkled with excitement and happiness. Gaara thought her eyes were far more beautiful than the stars and meteor shower. Just seeing her happy gave him a feeling that he had never experienced before. Love, perhaps? He thought about the strawberries. He was pretty sure he was supposed to express his feelings to her.

He put the bento in her hands.

"What's this?" Ichigo studied the small bento box.

"Open it," Gaara replied.

Ichigo did, and the sweet smell of ripe strawberries filled the air.

"Strawberries!" Ichigo smiled. "Like me!"

She giggled and Gaara couldn't help but smile at her.

"Thank you, Gaara-kun," She popped a strawberry in her mouth. "They're sweet, nya."

"You're welcome," Gaara replied.

"I'm glad you invited me out today, Gaara. I'll never forget this."

She hugged him.

Gaara wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

He would never forget this either. Standing there, with his arms around her, he didn't want anything to happen to her. He wanted nothing but for her happy. He knew he would do anything to make that happen.

_**Thanks for reading, everyone! Please keep coming back for more! A bento, for those who don't know, is a Japanese lunch box. They are just plastic containers, sometimes with different compartments. Sometimes they feature popular characters on them, such as Hello Kitty, Gloomy Bear and Pucca. :)**_

_**~Katsuki Shizenno**_


	5. Chapter 5

**_I do NOT own Naruto or Tokyo Mew Mew but I DO own this fanfic._**

Gaara was cursed. He was cursed with the existence of a demon living inside of him, controlling him, restricting him. He never slept, but stayed up all night with only the moon and stars as his companions. This demon, the one-tail, Shukaku, rejected whatever it didn't like causing Gaara to have to do the same. There was one thing demons absolutely despise: Love.

As anyone would guess, Shukaku was a real pain. This was a fact, literally. Gaara was experiencing a terrible headache. This usually happened when Shukaku was upset and he would sometimes even communicate his displeasures to Gaara directly.

"It's disgusting!" Shukaku was yelling inside Gaara's head. "It's all so disgusting!"

Gaara was also quite displeased at Shukaku's sudden voice of opinion. Why ever did the demon wait all this long to say anything? Shukaku probably enjoyed driving Gaara farther into insanity than he already was. Gaara wistfully and indignantly awaited the end of his suffering but knew the end would only bring another beginning of anguish.

* * *

It was another bright afternoon. Ichigo was walking through the hustle and bustle of the streets of Sunagakure. All the people hurried this way and that, children laughed and skipped through the streets and shopkeepers were hanging signs that broadcasted their good to the people. Ichigo thought the entire scene was slightly overwhelming but it was familiar in a way. It reminded her of busy Tokyo in her own dimension. As she walked, a trinket shop caught her eye.

She walked in.

It was a small shop, but cozy. An older woman with a bright smile was arranging goods on the shelves.

"Welcome," the shopkeeper smiled upon noticing Ichigo.

Ichigo smiled and waved at the woman. "Hello, nya. I like your shop."

"See anything that interests you? What's your name?"

"Ichigo."

"Ah, that's a lovely name. I think I might have something for you. What about this bracelet? It surely suits you."

The shopkeeper held up a bracelet of pink and brown beads that had a little strawberry charm on it.

Ichigo's eyes lit in energetic pleasure.

"Oh, it's so pretty, nya!" Ichigo looked at the price and saw it wasn't too expensive. "I'll take it."

Not much later, she was skipping through the streets herself, eyeing the pretty bracelet on her wrist. She had decided to go show her sensei the bracelet when she caught sight of a familiar red-haired boy. He was passing down an alley on the other side of the street. Ichigo hurried towards him down the alley, calling his name cheerfully.

Gaara heard her voice, and turned feeling a want to go to her but stopped himself. He would not fool around with such emotions.

Suddenly, he heard a scream. It sounded like Ichigo.

This time he ran towards the sound. He stopped short when he reached the alley, seeing Ichigo was being attacked by two brutes.

"Let go of me, nya!" Ichigo squirmed helplessly in the two goons' grasp.

"Don't be like that," they teased her. "We won't hurt you. Much."

Ichigo attempted to free herself again but couldn't, when a rush of sand grabbed one of the goons and swept him off his feet.

Ichigo looked up to see who had saved her. "Gaara-kun!"

Gaara dragged both of the brutes away from Ichigo and took them to a place where she could not see what was about to happen to them.

Ichigo was confused. Gaara had come and then he had gone. She stood there for a while, and then went to go find him.

She went up and down the confusing streets of Sunagakure but he was nowhere to be found.

A small while later, the sun was setting. She finally found him walking towards his house.

"Gaara-kun!" she ran towards him. "Where are you going?"

Gaara ignored her and kept walking. Ichigo soon caught up to him.

"Gaara-kun?" Ichigo stared at him. "What's wrong?"

Gaara still wouldn't respond. Upon closer inspection he looked like he was in pain.

Ichigo touched him gently. "Are you okay?"

Gaara pushed her back roughly. Ichigo stumbled backward in surprise and fell to the cold, sandy ground.

Gaara looked at her with his blue eyes. They had an evil gleam in them that was foreboding and chilling. Ichigo shivered. Gaara was holding his head and glaring at her evilly. It didn't seem like the Gaara she knew.

"You should stay away from me," Gaara growled.

Then he disappeared.

Ichigo wrapped her arms around herself.

Now she was thoroughly confused and quite saddened.

Did he not like her anymore? Was he angry at her for some reason? What had she done wrong?

Sand blew across the now empty streets as night fell and tears ran down Ichigo's cheeks.

**_A/N: Hello people! It's been forever since I updated this. I wrote this when I was younger and have no idea what I was even going to do with this but I plan to finish it anyway. Sorry for the excruciatingly long wait and I hope you will be patient with me. Arigato gozaimasu. :)_**


	6. Chapter 6

**_I do NOT own Naruto or Tokyo Mew Mew but I DO own this fanfic._**

The cool, night winds of Sunagakure blew on the strawberry that had dropped in the sand. Ichigo hated the wind. When the wind blew, it reminded her of death, because it was just like the wind that blew on the days that took her loved ones from her. She thought to herself that, perhaps, she should leave before the weather worsened or more thugs came to get her. She couldn't find much of the strength to move though, as she thought about the things she had vanished from her life. She just lay there and wait for fate to turn her world upside down again, as it seemed inevitable. She shivered in fear and cold. She heard footsteps coming steadily towards her.

Was something really going to happen again? Did fate have it out for her? She curled up slightly, as if that would protect her from whatever was coming for her.

She felt a hand on her, but it was a gentle touch.

Ichigo uncurled a little.

"Hey," the person was saying. "Are you sleeping out here?"

It was a female's voice.

Ichigo sat up to look at the person.

This person was a teenage girl, who was older than Ichigo. She had dirty-blonde hair and blue-green eyes. Her hair was tied into four short, unruly pigtails, two at the top and two at the bottom.

"Who are you, nya?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm Temari," the girl replied. "Are you Ichigo Momomiya?"

"Y-yes," Ichigo looked at Temari skeptically. "What do you want from me, Temari-san?"

Temari chuckled lightly. "So you're the girl who's been stalking my little brother?"

Ichigo blushed a bright red. "I wasn't stalking him at all!"

Temari's chuckle became laughter with Ichigo's sudden outburst.

"I wasn't accusing you," Temari grinned. "It was just a joke."

"Oh, nya," Ichigo replied.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind Ichigo.

"Oh, so this is the girl?" the shadow asked.

Ichigo jumped, startled, and hid behind Temari like a frightened kitten.

This "shadow" that had approached Ichigo happened to be a person about Temari's age, perhaps a bit younger. He was wearing an all black get-up and had odd, purple markings painted on his face and lips.

This guy just studied Ichigo with a look of surprise and bewilderment.

"I didn't expect her to be so…," he paused for a second, "cute."

There was a loud "th-whack!" sound as Temari whacked the guy upside the head with something she had pulled off her back. It appeared to be a huge, closed Japanese fan.

"Kankuro, stop being a jerk," Temari frowned. "Now hurry up and pick the girl up. We don't have all night."

The guy, who's name seemed to be Kankuro, winced as he rubbed the sore spot on his head and then hoisted Ichigo onto his back.

"I don't suppose I'm being kidnapped, nya?" Ichigo asked, confused at what was going on.

These people seemed nice enough but complete oddities, even for the people of this land. Then again, Gaara wasn't all that normal either.

"Nah, you're not being kidnapped," Kankuro replied to her question. "But we should take you back to your sensei. Regardless of how deadly you may be under all that cuteness, a lady shouldn't be out at night unarmed."

"'Deadly?'" Ichigo looked to Temari for answers.

"Kankuro!" Temari scolded.

"What?" Kankuro returned.

Temari sighed as she followed him along the path. Then her facial expression became more serious. "The reason we went through all the trouble to come out here for you was not just to take you back to your sensei. You could of done that yourself. You need to better your ninja skills. But that's not the point."

Temari shook her head, almost in a pitying way, and looked Ichigo straight in the eyes.

"You should stay away from us," she said gravely. "Especially Gaara. We're in a world apart from others, a world you can't understand."

Ichigo frowned.

Why couldn't she talk to Gaara? Sure, he seemed distant and cold sometimes, but she was sure he had a good heart. But then, she thought of what she had seen that night. That chilling, evil aura coming from him was just menacing.

"Why should I stay away from him?" she asked quietly, as if raising her voice louder would cause whatever entity that was causing that evil aura to hunt her down and swallow her up.

"I told you already," Temari said, firmly. "You wouldn't understand."

The group was now approaching the apartment Ichigo was staying at.

Kankuro let Ichigo off his back. "Okay, down you go. You'd better hurry inside. It's really late now."

"But why?" Ichigo repeated. "It's not fair! This always happens! So what, is everything destined to be withheld from me forever? I'm sure it's only a matter of time before everything is taken away from me. Maybe I should just go wait for fate to steal my life from me. Then it will finally be over."

Temari and Kankuro were at a loss for words.

They had no idea how to respond to her sudden outburst. They knew nothing of what she had been through or how she felt, they just knew she was a troubled little girl who was staring them down with the intensity of a wildcat.

Finally, Kankuro broke the silence. "You know, I have no right to say any of this considering I know close to nothing about you but, if you like Gaara so much why give up? I don't suppose he would be pleased with a weak girl."

Temari nodded. "It's not like we've had lives full of candy and roses. But we don't give up."

With this, Temari and Kankuro left.

Ichigo looked up at the moon and pondered what had been said.

Perhaps, she could keep trying, at least for him.

**_Thanks for reading~! ;o Another update after a while. Yayz~! I wish I had more time to update this but I'll keep trying my best. Thanks people~!_**


	7. Chapter 7

**_I do NOT own Naruto or Tokyo Mew Mew but I DO own this fanfic._**

A while after her conversation with Temari and Kankuro, Ichigo began to train more. She wanted to become stronger. If she could just be stronger, she figured could protect those she held dear to her heart. Also, she would be able to seize back the happiness that had been wrongly taken from her so many times. The weak couldn't survive in this world where shinobi reigned, but yet, love seemed so foreign? Love in this world was a twisted concept. You fought to protect those you loved, but hurt the loved ones of others in the process. A unnerving truth, a way of survival. But, was this 'way of the shinobi' much different from the way of life in her world?

Many weeks passed, and Ichigo did not visit Gaara. She heeded Temari and Kankuro's words and stayed away. This was difficult, for she longed to see him. She wondered if she was a terrible girl. She liked Gaara. She always knew she had, but she tried to push this thought to the back of her head. Wasn't it wrong to love someone else? She had given her heart and soul to Masaya. She couldn't just abandon him, even in death. Could she?

* * *

Gaara usually isolated himself in times when Shukaku was angry, like he was now. He had been shut up in his room for a few days straight, excluding the times when he emerged for the occasional meal. While he was in his room, he had time to think. He thought about Ichigo. He wondered how much he had frightened her. Did she find him disgusting? Did she hate him now?

Gaara didn't want to live like this. Having everyone run from you and hate you, it was disgusting. Sooner or later you find yourself disgusting. But Shukaku would not allow his vessel to die, so Gaara was forced to lived a cursed existance.

So here was the question: Would he just continue to live like this?

Gaara didn't wish to. He wondered if he could change this.

Now he thought of Naruto.

Maybe, just maybe, he could...

Just then, he heard Temari enter through the front door. Kankuro had been sleeping on the couch, but woke up from the noise.

"Oh, Temari, it's you," he said.

"Yeah," Temari replied. "So have you been sleeping the whole day?"

Kankuro didn't reply.

Gaara heard Temari sigh. "You had better not get lazy, Kankuro. I saw that girl, Ichigo. She was training her butt off today. I was a little impressed."

"Wow," Kankuro sounded surprised. "So do you think...what we said to her...?"

"Maybe."

"So she really likes him that much."

"It seems so."

Gaara looked out the window, to see if he could spot Ichigo, but to no avail.

Gaara lay on his back and stare at the ceiling.

He touched the kanji symbol he had engraved in his forehead. "Ichigo...one day...just wait. I won't give up either."

* * *

Time passed rapidly, and soon the days turned into months.

Before Ichigo knew it, her time in Sunagakure was up and it was time to return to Konohagakure.

It was her last night in Sunagakure. She was to leave with Naruto and Kakashi the next day. She lay in the bed, and thought about her time in Suna. She had had a lot of fun, and made some new friends. She had become stronger and Kakashi had offered to teach her a few jutsus.

She had even found a new lov-.

Ichigo stopped herself. That word lingered in the back of her mind, with an image of Gaara.

Ichigo looked up at the clear, starry sky.

"Masaya," she said. "Is it wrong? Am I wrong for being this way? The way I feel is undeniable, but...I can't betray you."

A few tears fell from her reddish-brown eyes.

"I wish I could see you, Masaya. I wish I knew what you would say to me."

Little did she know that she already knew.

* * *

Ichigo now found herself at an amuesment park. The lights gleamed brightly against the night sky, and the sounds of music, laughing children and cheerful cries filled the air. Masaya and her were hand in hand, enjoying each other's company. The love between the two of them was tangible, their bond unbreakable.

Masaya led Ichgo to a bench, where he kissed her passionately. There was a spark between them that was unlike any other that Ichigo had felt before. Perhaps that was love.

As they finished kissing, Masaya smiled at Ichigo. "Ichigo. No matter what, I always want you to be happy. Always. This is my greatest desire. I want you to keep smiling like you always do. Share that smile with the world!"

"I will, Masaya," Ichigo smiled brightly.

Suddenly, all that was around them melted away. It became blurrier until it completely faded.

The bench, the carnival, the people, it was all gone.

Ichigo stood in a place of nothing-ness. In front of her stood Masaya.

"Ichigo," he was smiling at her. "No matter what, I always want you to be happy."

Then Masaya faded away and before she could even utter a word, and interior of the Sunagakure apartment came into view.

Ichigo had now awakened from a dream.

When she realized that Masaya had been a dream, and that now she had been forced back to reality, she began to cry, quietly.

It then occured to her that she had been dreaming about a date her and Masaya had gone on almost a year ago.

"No matter what, I always want you to be happy."

That sentence lingered in her head.

Ichigo wiped her tears. Masaya's answer to her question, that was it.

She'd had it all along.

**_A/N: Thanks for reading everyone! :)_**


	8. Epilogue

**_I do NOT own Naruto or Tokyo Mew Mew but I DO own this fanfic._**

The next day, Naruto, Kakashi and Ichigo, prepared to depart.

All the while she was packing, last night's dream lingered in her head.

There was just some feeling she couldn't shake. Like she was missing something, giving something up. And for what?

She knew why she felt what she did. She knew the reason, but should she...?

The hours were passing quickly, and the time of departure came closer and closer.

Ichigo frowned to herself.

What was she doing? Had she really become any stronger, any better?

She decided, it was time to find out.

She told Naruto and Kakashi she had a quick errand to run, and took off running down the sandy street.

She ran, without stopping, with as much courage as she could, straight to Gaara's house.

Now she wondered how she would get in without Temari and Kankuro knowing.

She took a good look at the house and noticed Gaara sitting inside, in his bedroom. She then decided to climb into Gaara's window. She climbed quietly, nimbly, up to his window, like a cat. She hoisted herself into the window and into his bedroom.

Gaara turned and their eyes met.

They stared at each other, for a silent second.

That's when Ichigo realized she was right. She could feel that spark, slightly, in her bosom. It was small but she could feel it.

She looked Gaara in his seafoam blue eyes, and smiled, just like Masaya told her.

"Gaara-kun," she spoke. "I'll be leaving soon, in just a little while. I'm going back to Konohagakure."

Gaara seemed unemotional. "Alright."

Ichigo swallowed and continued, "I knew I couldn't go without seeing you again. Because, I like you. _A lot_. I don't know how you feel, or what's going on. I don't understand why your siblings want me to stay away from you, but they said that you don't give up. So I'm going to become stronger and I won't give up either. And I definently won't give up on you. I know you're a good person. I can feel it."

Gaara looked straight at Ichigo. His face softened a bit.

"I understand," Gaara replied. "I understand your feelings. At first, it was confusing, but now..."

"But now?"

"Ichigo. I will become someone who people don't have to run away from. Someone who you don't have to fear. I will become someone who can make people happy. I'll make _you_ happy. And then, everything will make sense. There won't be a reason to give up anymore."

"Okay!" Ichigo smiled wider than Gaara had ever seen before.

She had a beautiful smile.

The two moved closer to each other and time seemed to stop for a moment.

For a split second, Gaara couldn't hear or feel Shukaku's nagging presence.

Ichigo then uttered those beautiful words. "Gaara-kun, I love you."

They kissed quickly, for no more than a few seconds, although it seemed so much longer to them. The passion in that simple kiss was tangible and fierce. Like a fire ignited in their hearts that would persist to burn no matter who, or what, tried to extinguish it.

Then, Ichigo silently slipped out the window, and ran off.

Gaara went to the window, and stepped out onto the roof to watch her go. She gave a last look over her shoulder with that bright smile.

The same thoughts were going through their minds.

* * *

"When we see each other again, we will both be changed, different people. We will be better people, stronger people, more mature and passionate people. Then, at that time, we will finally be able to be together."

* * *

_**Fin.**_

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks to everyone and anyone who read this to the end. I'm sorry it took me so long to write it. I really hope you enjoyed it. :) I may make a sequal/spin-off one day because I love the idea of this pairing, so you (might) have something to look forward to? O-O; Anyways, thanks to everyone! XD Bye-bye **_

_**til next time!**_


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